Tore Renberg - See You Tomorrow

‘Tommy Tang! Well, well, what’s the long arm of the law doing on the old stamping ground?’

Tommy gives them a cheeky grin, a grin Rudi can remember, a grin which made all the women in Tjensvoll, Madla and Gosen melt and dream of going on a date with Pogo.

‘Heh heh, indeed, was just about to ask the two of you the same thing.’

‘Heh heh,’ Rudi laughs in reply, ‘after you, sir.’

‘Heh heh. No, by all means, Rudi.’

‘Heh heh.’

‘Heh heh.’

‘Tam-pon. It’s a long time since we met around these parts. They were the days, eh?’

‘You’re right there,’ laughs Tommy Pogo. ‘Yeah, so I’ve just moved back. Living on Sommerstien.’

‘Hah.’ Rudi slaps his palms together. ‘There you go. Back to the land of childhood. You hear that, Jani, Tampon has moved home.’

‘I heard,’ says Jan Inge, in a strained tone.

‘And what are you two doing here?’ Tampon lets his gaze drift from Jan Inge to Rudi and back again.

Jan Inge’s face breaks into a broad, self-confident smile. ‘Will we tell him, Rudi?’

Rudi looks at his friend uncomprehendingly, his thoughts running around confusedly in his head, but he understands by the look Jani gives him that all he needs to do is follow his lead. ‘Yeah, let’s just spit it out.’

Jan Inge laughs. ‘We must be getting a bit sentimental in our old age, just like you. We were sitting at home — we’ve had lots to do recently, a load of work with our removal company — and it was almost as if all this moving we were doing for other people made us aware of how little we move ourselves, if you know what I mean—’

‘Yeah,’ says Rudi enthusiastically, ‘that we’re just over there in Hillevåg and never get the finger out—’

‘And then Rudi said: “Jani, I wonder how things are out in Madla these days. In Tjensvoll. In Gosen. In Haugtussa.” You know how it is, he’s from around here.’

‘I know that, heh heh.’

‘So here we are. Breathing in the diamond air of the eighties.’

‘Diamond air?’

‘Yeah. A comparison.’

Tommy Pogo’s smile lets them know he doesn’t believe a word.

‘So you’re living here. Your kids are going to school in Gosen then?’

‘Yeah, Ulrik’s in third year. Kia’s in first year. They’ve got a good set-up for her there.’

‘Oh, yeah, forgot about that acc—’

‘Yeah.’

‘Something to do with ski—’

‘Slalom. In Ålsheia. She’s paralysed from the neck down.’

‘That’s tough.’ Rudi shifts his weight from one foot to the other. ‘So. Heard about how things are with Remi, by the way?’ Rudi grins, but he can feel Jani’s eyes burning into him.

Tommy Pogo takes out his mobile and looks at it. ‘No,’ he says, putting the phone back in his pocket, ‘but listen, Rudi, now that I have you here.’

Pogo takes a step closer. He cocks his head a tiny bit to the side. Rudi moves backwards.

‘That key,’ says Tommy.

‘Key?’ Rudi says, his eyes flitting about.

‘The key to the centre.’

‘The key to the centre?’

Tommy Pogo smirks. ‘Rudi, come on, I’ve been wondering about it for almost thirty years. Where did it get to?’

‘Oh! The key to the shopping centre!’ Rudi relaxes and slaps the palm of his hand off his forehead. He laughs, and thirty years seem to disappear, and for a few seconds he feels like it’s old times, and he almost has to stop himself from giving Tommy Pogo a hug. ‘Heh heh,’ he chortles. ‘The key to the shopping centre. Christ. I’ll tell you where it’s got to.’

Rudi produces a bunch of keys, begins flipping through them and finally holds up an old Union one.

Pogo sticks his chin out. ‘Jesus,’ he says. ‘Is that it?’

Rudi’s eyebrows dance up and down.

‘You’ve held on to it,’ says Pogo, nodding. ‘Well! I’d better be off home,’ he adds, reaching out and shaking both their hands. ‘I’ll drop by one day.’

‘Yeah, by all means,’ Jani says, ‘by all means.’

Rudi smiles: ‘Sure thing. We’ll be home all right.’

‘Tomorrow,’ says Tommy Pogo, ‘why not tomorrow?’

‘Hey, why not,’ says Rudi, feeling Jan Inge’s eyes boring into him.

‘Good,’ Tommy Pogo says, ‘it’s agreed. See you tomorrow. Steak, chanterelle mushrooms and Brussels sprouts?’

‘Wha?’

‘My favourite meal.’ Tommy turns to go, but stops as though he’s just thought of something, spins back around and asks: ‘By the way — Tong, isn’t he getting out soon?’

‘Yeeah…’ Rudi notices his voice doesn’t sound right.

‘That’s right,’ Jani says swiftly, ‘he’s out tomorrow. Big day for us.’

‘Right, yeah,’ Tommy Pogo says, smiling. ‘Had a feeling he was out around now. Great. Then I’ll have a chance to catch up with him too. Apparently he’s had an okay time in Åna, or so I hear. All right. Talk tomorrow.’

Pogo walks off in the direction of Sommerstien.

Rudi shakes his head. Harelip Pogo. Strange to think of. Once he was in the Tjensvoll Gang, now he heads up Project Repeat Offender for Rogaland Police District. It’s screwed up how life goes. Once Tampon was his best mate, now Pogo is one of Rudi’s biggest problems.

Tomorrow,’ he sighs. ‘What are we going to do now? Call the whole thing off?’

Jan Inge shuts his eyes for a couple of seconds, before slowly opening them again. ‘We go through with things as planned. Tampon’s not going to suspect us after meeting us here and then calling in tomorrow.’

Rudi nods. Go through with it. Masterly.

Jan Inge looks at Rudi. ‘What was the story with that key?’

Rudi smiles. ‘Tommy and me,’ he says. ‘We got our hands on the key to the backdoor of Tjensvoll Shopping Centre. Nicked it from a coat in the break room. At first we used it to get in and knock off fizzy drinks and beer. But after a while we rented it out to people. We put a limit of two crates of beer each. Me and Tommy sat up in Vannassen and ran the whole thing. The police didn’t know what was going on. The alarm would go off, they’d drive down, but there was never anybody there. People just unlocked the door, got in and got out. The cops thought there was something wrong with the security system. Heh heh. It all went to hell when Janka couldn’t control himself. He filled a whole shopping trolley with beer. They copped on then.’

‘Nice all the same though,’ says Jan Inge, nodding. ‘That kind of style is right up my street.’

‘Yeah,’ says Rudi. ‘One of our better moments. Was Tommy who came up with it, of course. I probably would’ve just broken a window, gone in and picked up the beer.’

‘Yeah, that you would.’

‘Hah. The dark side lost a good man there.’

‘True. A kind of Anakin Skywalker in reverse, that Tommy.’

Rudi looks down at the bunch of keys, rubs the old Union one between his finger and thumb. ‘I’ve never been able to bring myself to throw it away,’ he says. ‘It felt pretty intense seeing him. Back here, like. Same old Tampon in a way. Somewhere or other inside that buff cop’s body is the mate I once had. Steak with chanterelle mushrooms and Brussels sprouts. Wasn’t a lot of that when Tommy was a boy. Did I ever tell you about the time we broke into Madlavoll School?’

Jani shakes his head. ‘No, don’t think so.’

‘Middle of the night. 1983. Tommy was always so bloody angry. You can’t see it any more. But he was, a fucking ball of rage. Hah. 1983. Middle of the night. Madlavoll School. Me and Tommy Pogo. We just ran through the empty corridors roaring and shouting. That was so fucking great.

Dear Lord, I don’t know who you are any more. I don’t know who I am any more. He’s hurting me, he’s tearing me apart, but I try to tell myself that if I am to be ruined, then I’ll be ruined by something beautiful. I’m not able to think about anything else. I hate the here and now, I want to go back to when I was small and you were standing in front of me. I no longer have the feeling you’re there. When I was little, I always knew you would come to me. All I had to do was wait, all I had to do was close my eyes. Now I don’t know where you are. But now is the time I need you. Why don’t you say something? Do you want me to suffer here on my own; is there some purpose behind it? You let me feel love but now you’re taking it away from me. I don’t understand the purpose of that. Please, I’m closing my eyes now, I’m lying here in bed. Breathe on me. Mum and Dad are upstairs in the living room. They’re pacing the floor, I can hear them. They’re talking together, you know that, talking about me. Mum is crying; can you hear that, she’s crying. She’s not used to this, she’s protected me her whole life — Sandra has never done anything to make Mum cry. But she doesn’t recognise me now. It’s not our Sandra, she says. You’ve skipped work, she says. Who is it you’re meeting, Sandra? Why don’t you talk to us? Why are you pulling away? We’re your parents, Sandra, all we want is to help you. The scary thing is Mum’s right — I’m no longer their Sandra. I’m Daniel’s Sandra. So breathe on me, Lord. Breathe first on me, then go up to the living room, get Mum to sit down and breathe on her eyelids and say: She is not your Sandra. She is Daniel’s Sandra. Is he leaving me? Is he not who he said he was? He’s not going to Veronika, he’s not going to her. Say it. He is not going to her. I’m the only one who knows who he is. Breathe on us. Breathe on Malene and Tiril’s father. Breathe on the sisters. Breathe on Mum. Breathe on Dad. Breathe on me. Now I’m calm. I’ll try to sleep, I know you’ll come and lie down beside me a little later tonight, like you always used to do. I know you’ll come. I know that it will be a new tomorrow and I know that everything will be fine.